Georgetown
by the fifth angel
Summary: In the 1930's, Nico saw his city as a place of promises and life. Oneshot.
**Probably historically incorrect, and** **sparsely edited. Quick idea I had.**

 _August 2, 1935_

Nico was still getting used to his life. His mother, an Italian diplomat, had accepted a job at the embassy. Nico and Bianca moved from Italy to a suite in a historical, brick hotel in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

"Bianca! Bianca! Did you see what just happened?" Nico squealed, taking Bianca out of her train of thought. "I almost fell into the canal!" Despite the slightly horrifying news that Nico had almost fallen into a canal, a smile adorned his face. "The water looked like it was sparkling, and I swear I saw a turtle or something, so I leaned against the bricks and they fell apart! Like, I don't know how! It was the weirdest thing I've—"

"Shh, _miele_ , you're okay." Bianca gently shushed him, not wanting to attract the stares of tourists and other pedestrians. Weird things always seemed to happen when Bianca and Nico went near bodies of water. Regardless, the two still enjoyed walking along the Georgetown canals while their mother worked. "Let's get something to eat now."

At the deli, Nico always got tomato, mozzarella, and basil, but Bianca got something different each time. This time she had gotten a grilled cheese with tomato.

After their sandwiches, Bianca made an odd suggestion. "Nico?"

Nico raised his head, curiously looking into Bianca's eyes, which gleamed with excitement.

"Let's go thrift-shopping. I think you'll really like it."

And so, the pair of siblings walked down M Street until they reached their destination—a small thrift shop that smelled strongly of lint and dust. For its small size, the store was packed with a considerably large amount of clothes.

Nico tried on shirts and pants and even gloves and hats, but in the end he settled for a black shirt with silver embroidering and a leather jacket. Bianca only bought one thing for herself—a floppy green hat that hung in her face. Nico thought it looked ridiculous, but Bianca didn't care much about her brother's opinions on fashion and style.

 _December 13, 1935_

People stood outside, admiring the way the white snow contrasted with the twisted, bare branches of the Sycamore trees. Nico marveled at how the gentle coating of white enhanced the visuals of the antique-looking town.

"Nico?"

Nico looked up at Bianca.

"Have we ever been to the Southeast quadrant?"

"The what?"

Bianca took a deep breath. "D.C. is split into sections—quadrants. I don't think either of us have ever been out of the Northwest area."

Nico only understood the gist of what she was saying.

"Lets go to the Southeast quadrant." Bianca said, a tone of adventure in her voice.

"Today?" Nico widened his eyes. "B-b-but what—"

"Today." Bianca cut him off.

The two boarded a public bus. Bianca looked excited, a smile growing on her face. Nico looked utterly terrified.

The two got off the bus in a neighborhood called Congress Heights.

"Um, Bianca? This place kinda looks like a dump."

Bianca threw Nico a playful glare. "Not everyone is as lucky as we are, _miele._ "

The street was mostly deserted, with the exception of a group of boys who were approaching Nico and Bianca.

There were about five of them. They looked like they were in their late teens or early twenties, and they looked extremely diverse. Each one had distinct features. One of them had a pale face with a scar running up along the side. A different one had darker skin and one of his eyes looked swollen. Three of them were smoking.

"Uh, Bianca? They don't look nice. N-not at all." Nico said quietly.

Bianca didn't respond. She didn't move either.

The group of boys now stood about three feet across from them.

One of the boys tilted his head, his eyes squeezing into a predatory and mimicking glare. "You seem very pretty for a girl your age." He took a step closer in Bianca's direction. "I know you're not from around here. Lemme show you the place. We can have a little fun."

At this point, Bianca knew one thing; she needed to protect her brother. She wouldn't leave him for some nasty group of wannabe pedophiles. She wouldn't leave Nico for _any_ group.

"Go away." Her voice was forceful and clear.

She couldn't tell, and nor could Nico, but she gave off a powerful aura of death. The shadows around her seemed to itch, like they were alive.

The group of guys seemed scared. One of them stuttered. One of them ran. One of them backed away slowly.

"Come on, _miele,_ we're going." Bianca grabbed Nico's hand, and spun around, wondering how they were going to get home.

 _May 9, 1936_

It was the festival of the countries. The one day a year where all of the ambassadors of foreign countries put out displays and flags and cultural foods for people to eat. And, if the country didn't have an ambassador in the Washington area, the people would do it.

The streets were flooded with colorful flags, the smells of fresh food, and the sound of laughter.

Bianca loved to look at the European displays from typically upper-class countries. She loved England, France, Germany and Sweden. She also loved to talk about the colors of the flags.

Nico preferred Greece, Italy, and Egypt. He was mystified by the Pagan gods of any culture, and every culture.

Nico tugged at Bianca's arm. "Can we please look at the display for Italy now? I heard they have mini statues of the Roman gods and I—"

"Okay, okay, just a minute." Bianca said, looking at a picture of London, England.

 _June 14, 1936_

"Nico, aren't the buildings here so pretty?"

"I guess."

Lately, Bianca loved to talk about the history behind the capital.

She educated Nico on Victorian style buildings and all their details, and dragged Nico around to all of the statues and monuments in the area.

"We should go to the Lincoln Memorial." Bianca suggested.

"But we've already been there, like, five times."

"Well, let's go again. After all, it's only a bus ride away."

Nico complained, telling Bianca how it was a waste of time and how Lincoln wasn't all that great. Bianca refused to listen.

"I know you secretly like it." Bianca had a slight smile on her face.

Nico responded by glaring at her.

Once they were at the memorial, Bianca did what she usually did. She observed the statue, pointing out all the small details to an inattentive Nico. She was about to tell Nico about the Greek influences on the memorial, but she was interrupted by a loud scream. Everyone looked over to where the scream had originated.

A woman was screaming, pointing towards the spot in the reflection pool.

Bianca ran forward as fast as she could. She was there in almost an instant.

"What happened?" Bianca gasped, out of breath.

"My-my baby. Abigail. She's an infant and I dropped her in there because I was showing her the water and—"

Bianca didn't hear the rest of what she said. Bianca rushed towards the water and put her hands in, frantically feeling around for the mass of an infant. The water was only a foot and a half tall, but she was guessing the mother didn't know that.

Bianca pulled the infant, Abigail, out of the water.

Abigail's face was red, but she was alive. Bianca quickly handed the baby to the crying mother.

Bianca didn't want to hear any "thank you's" or remarks on her not-really-heroic act. She ran back up to where Nico was, quickly grabbed his hand, and the two left as fast as they could.

When they returned to the hotel, they rested in the lobby for a few minutes.

Bianca tiredly lounged, laid out on a khaki-colored couch. Nico sat in an upholstered, also khaki-colored, chair next to her.

There was a silence between the two.

"You know," Nico broke the silence, "you shouldn't have done that. Mamma said bad things happen to us when we're around water." Then he pursed his lips 

"Hey! You're the one who almost fell into the canal!"

"But that was an accident, and it was almost a year ago!"

 _August 17, 1936_

"Everyone makes such a big deal about it, and honestly its not that great."

"Try to enjoy it. Not everyone gets a chance to see the White House as often as you do, _miele._ "

"Bianca?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think I could ever be the president?"

Bianca, without hesitation, nodded her head yes and said, "You can do anything Nico."

"But not without you."

"I'll always be here for you, little brother. And even if I'm not, you'll be okay. I promise, Nico, I promise."

 **And I'm done! The first segment is just an intro to the story, but it also explains the story behind Bianca's hat. The second one is actually a metaphor for when Bianca joins the Hunt, the third one is just kinda cute. The fourth one shows Bianca's rebel side and selflessness (both of which eventually leads to her death. Yikes...) and the fourth one is about broken promises (especially because Percy broke his promise to keep Bianca safe). Don't think it's too obvious from a first read, but, yeah, those are the meanings behind each of them.**


End file.
